Surprised by Lily's revelation that she still loved Remus, even after
marrying James, Hermione spent the rest of the afternoon in a stupor. When
suppertime rolled around, Draco knocked on the door, but Hermione politely
declined the invitation to join them, claiming she wasn't hungry.
"I know you're nervous about tonight," Draco whispered through the keyhole, "but you'll have to trust me. I know what I'm doing."
Hermione giggled to herself. If only Lucius had heard that conversation, he might be thinking differently about placing the two of them in such close sleeping quarters. She continued to flip through Lily's diary, which was filled with details of how she felt and how much sleep she felt she was losing.
Voldemort's on the loose and he's like a crazed maniac. I don't know where to turn anymore. He's turning all of us against one another. I find myself looking at James, thinking secretly he could be working undercover for him. Of course, I know most of it is the hormones and the raging emotions I'm experiencing, but it scares me. What if he comes after us? What if he gets the baby? I hate all these up-in-the-air scenarios. 'What if, what if, what if?' Who cares anymore?
That was the end of that entry and the next was on August 5. I couldn't be happier, Lily wrote, which Hermione found an incredible contradiction to her previous entry. I had a baby boy on July 31. James and I named him Harry. Harry James Potter. It suits him. He's got dark hair and soft eyes. Although he's still young, I can tell that he's going to be a good baby. Already, he doesn't cry a whole lot, but he could still be getting used to us. We're quite the bunch to get used to. Mundungus came by to visit us and Harry began to scream as soon as he came near him. I don't blame him because poor Dung can be a little out of bounds sometimes. Sirius came by to visit his godson and Peter accompanied him. We had a very fun-filled afternoon, sharing memories and great stories. Harry took to Sirius right away and I can tell that the two of them are going to have a very special relationship.
I was a little disappointed that Remus didn't drop by. Of course, it's a full moon soon, so I can understand why, but it still upsets me. Naturally, I assume he's a little upset, too, thinking about seeing the son of the woman he loves when the boy's not his. I know in his heart, Remus will treat Harry like the son he never had, but it's not the same. James is as caring as a father can get, but I still worry about his maturity level. When his friends arrived, they spent ten minutes in the washroom together, shooting wads of wet paper onto the ceiling with their wands. I was going to kill him.
Hermione laughed at this thought. She found herself being pulled in and becoming more and more captivated at the thought of Harry as a baby. It gave her something to think about and get her mind off of poor Ron for a few hours. Nighttime drew closer, but Draco still hadn't come to rescue her from her room yet. She heard Lucius and Narcissa go to bed, with Lucius muttering angrily under his breath about Hermione not showing up at supper. Rolling her eyes, she continued to read about Harry's adventures as a baby and Lily's growing worry over Voldemort.
I'm beginning to think that the Order is not doing any good. Poor Alastor Moody. He's been working overtime lately for the Order, and the Ministry, and James is busting his behind trying to get the safety report done. Albus Dumbledore keeps trying to contact me about something he deems 'rather important' but we can never seem to get a hold of one another.
Harry's sitting up on his own now. He's such a sweetie. Whenever James or I come into his view, his face lights up and he grins like crazy for at least ten minutes. Everyone keeps saying how he's such a happy baby. All of our neighbours in Godrics' Hollow are thrilled with the new addition. Mrs. McFlaherty told me that the 'last additions' to the neighbourhood was when James and I moved in. It's nice to feel so welcome.
Hermione skipped a few pages because Lily had begun to go on about the other neighbours and what they were like. "I'll come back to those pages," Hermione promised herself. "Later on." She continued to scan the pages for Lupin's name until she came across one rather interesting entry.
He came to visit me last night while James was at work. Not Remus. Not Sirius. Not Peter. Voldemort. I nearly screamed when I opened the door to get some fresh air and there he was, staring me in the face. Forget scream, I nearly dropped dead from fright. He started talking something about prophetic visions and whatnot, so naturally I assumed that he was crazier than people made him out to be. He started to bring Harry into it and I threatened to scream as loud as I possibly could. 'Go ahead,' he told me. Then he raised his wand. 'I dare you.' I remembered what Dumbledore told me about Voldemort once being called Tom Riddle and that Riddle was very childish at school. So I decided to be childish myself and slam the door in his face. I knew it only angered him, but I didn't care. I fully expected him to break down the door, but instead, I saw him walk back down the drive and out onto the street. He looked so odd; I wanted to throw every heavy object I could find at him. As an alternative, I dropped to my knees and sobbed heavily. I never told James what happened last night.
Hermione hadn't realized that she was holding her breath until then. She let out a heavy sigh with the breath and stared at the pages. "Wow," she muttered. She didn't know what she'd do if she opened her front door and Voldemort stood on the front stoop. Scream and faint came to mind, along with a few other choice options. She kept reading until her eyes grew sore. She was nearing the empty pages she saw at the back of the book and decided to put it away and save those for another day. Right now, she had to focus on her strength that would get her from Malfoy Manor to St. Mungo's without any hitches or problems.
As promised, that evening around eleven thirty, Draco appeared at Hermione's door, whispering in the keyhole. "Are you ready?"
"Not really," she muttered to herself but said, "Yeah," aloud. She opened the door to see Draco wearing all black, plus a black hat. "You look like you're going to rob a store," she told him quietly as they sneaked down the creaky staircase.
"Quit bugging," he told her, "or else you will have to go to St. Mungo's yourself." Hermione shut up immediately, not because she wanted Draco's company but because she didn't really want to go on her own. "It's a long hike," he told her as they waited patiently in the kitchen for the woman in the painting to leave. "After all, it's quite a ways away taking streets and everything. But the underground tunnel is a little more direct so it shouldn't be too bad."
Hermione sat on a kitchen chair, her knees feeling weak. Butterflies flitted around her stomach, making her feel unlike herself. Draco kept peering around the corner to see if his great aunt had left yet. Finally, after what had seemed like hours, he said, "The coast is clear." Carefully, he tiptoed around the corner and towards the painting. Slowly shoving it aside on the wall, he motioned for Hermione to go first. "Got everything you need?" he asked as she slid by him.
"Uh huh," she replied, shivering. The tunnel was going to be a lot damper and cooler than she had originally predicted. The smell of mildew was in the air and mould was growing on the walls. Careful not to touch anything, she slowly began to follow the dark corridor, which grew even darker after Draco had slid the portrait back in its place.
"Be careful," he told her, directing her with his hand on the small of her back. She smiled faintly into the darkness, wondering why he was being so caring.
"Why are you acting like you actually give a damn about me?" she asked in a teasing tone.
"Because Father will kill me if you get hurt or lost or something."
"Is it possible to get lost in this tunnel?"
"Would it bother you to know that I wasn't always an only child?"
Hermione shut her mouth, hoping he was kidding and that there were no other lost Malfoy children wandering around the passageway. They were silent for a few moments and Hermione decided, since they had nothing but time, to ask a question that had been plaguing her for quite some time.
"Why is it that when you speak of Lucius to other people, you call him 'Father' but when you talk to him directly, you call him 'Dad'? I would have thought it would have been the other way around."
Draco remained silent for a few moments. "I didn't even know I did that," he finally replied. "I guess it's because when other people talk to me about him, they always refer to him as 'your father' and I guess it just stuck." He continued to lead Hermione down the dreary pathway, his hand still on her back. Somewhere in the distance, Hermione could hear dripping water.
"Where exactly are we?"
"You know that river in the backyard?"
"No way," Hermione said. "There's no way we're under that river."
"No, we're not," Draco replied. "But we're pretty damn close."
Silence reigned for the rest of the trip, giving Hermione plenty of time to think about Ron and Harry. She was pretty sure neither of them had changed much, being only just over a month since she had seen them last. But she wondered if Ron was going to be okay. She hoped so. As angry as she was with him when she left Hogwarts, she never wished anything ill of him. She had figured once she and Draco married and were living away from Lucius, she could correspond as much as she pleased with her old friends. She was dying to write to Professor Dumbledore and tell him what was going on and that she was okay. She was sure that Professor McGonagall would be expecting to hear from her soon, too, and Hermione even considered writing Severus Snape to let him know that the Malfoys hadn't broken her yet.
Hermione was grateful when the dark tunnel ended, almost thirty minutes after they began walking. She was exhausted as she climbed up the steep hill underground and burst out into the fresh air. There were several stars in the sky above and a bright, full moon. Hermione found her thoughts drifting to Remus Lupin, wondering where he was at that moment and how he was making out if it was a full moon.
"Now the hospital is just over that hill," Draco said, pointing to the grassy knoll. "But I think it's best we wait until morning to go in."
"Definitely," Hermione agreed. "But what are we going to do for the time being?"
"Dunno," Draco confessed. He looked up at the sky, studying the stars intently. "We could sleep outside," he offered. "It doesn't look like it's going to rain."
Hermione fought a yawn. She didn't want to tell him that she could sleep on a bed of nails at that point; she was just so tired. She hadn't been getting much sleep, feeling more stifled in the Manor than she had in her entire life. Dropping to the ground, she curled up into a ball. "Sounds good," she muttered. When she didn't feel any movement from Draco after a few moments, she opened her eyes again and looked up.
Draco was standing above her looking rather uncomfortable. "I guess I'll sleep over here," he said, moving off to her right. "I'll stay awake for awhile to keep guard."
"Okay," Hermione muttered sleepily. She wasn't going to argue with him, instead letting her mind be taken over by sleep. She fell into a mess of dreams, mixed with nightmares. Draco was hanging Ron by a thread over a cliff and Ron was screaming for Hermione.
"We have to talk!" he was telling her and she agreed, trying to get to him. But when she attempted to move, she only felt more bound to the ground she was trying to leave. Screaming herself, she saw Harry in the distance.
"Harry!" she cried. "Help me!" Harry looked up, but continued to walk, ignoring her cries. He looked isolated and detached from the rest of the world. Hermione started to cry and woke with a start.
"Sorry," Draco said softly. "I didn't mean to startle you. But it's almost eight; we should get to the hospital."
Hermione sat up, sore from sleeping in the same position all night. "Won't Lucius notice us gone?" she asked.
Looking odder than before, Draco replied, "As long as we're back before noon, I don't think he'll care much."
"Right." Hermione stood up and stretched, trying to work the kinks out of her body. She followed Draco, who looked completely exhausted, towards the hill. She didn't want to climb the massive mound, but she didn't complain and began to make her way up the hill.
"It's like a miniature mountain," Draco grumbled and Hermione laughed.
"You're awfully grumpy this morning. Didn't you sleep well?"
"I didn't sleep at all!" Draco yawned. "I wanted to make sure we were both okay; you know werewolves come out during the full moons."
"And it would be just like one was looking for us," Hermione answered sarcastically. "Why didn't you sleep?"
"What do you care?" Draco replied moodily.
"If I'm going to be stuck with you for the rest of my life, I don't want you being a complete crab," she told him, stopping for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she continued climbing the hill.
"Whatever," he muttered, reaching the top. "Finally! Look, there's St. Mungo's right there." He began to descend the other side of the mountain. "And to think, we have to climb this monster in a few hours again."
Hermione marvelled at Draco's ability to climb a mini mountain and complain the entire time, and still not run out of breath. She followed him towards the large building and up the first staircase. "We're here to see Ronald Weasley," Draco told the nurse behind the glass shield.
"Third room on the left," the nurse told them, without looking up. Draco sat in the chair beside the nurse's booth and rested his head against the back of it.
"Well?" he asked when Hermione failed to move. "Aren't you going?"
"Right," she said, picking up her feet, urging them to move with the rest of her body. "I won't be long," she promised.
"You better not be," he told her, "or else Father will kill us." He closed his eyes and proceeded to try and catch up on some rest before the long journey back.
Hermione entered the third doorway on the left and noticed immediately that it seemed like the rest of the wizarding world had heard of Ron's accident. The room was filled with flowers and gifts.
Ron stirred sleepily before opening his eyes slightly. Hermione noted that he didn't look all that bad. His right eye was a little bruised but other than that, there was no notable injuries.
"Hermione," he said quietly, breaking into a soft smile. "Am I dreaming or just really lucky?"
"I'm here, Ron," she whispered back, sitting in the chair beside his bed. "I came as soon as I heard. I'm really sorry."
"For what?"
Hermione had only intended to say she was sorry about the accident, but her words got caught in her throat. "For everything!" she wailed, burying her face in his hands. "For the engagement, for being such a brat our last few months of school, for the accident, for not writing to you sooner, for everything!" Tears rolled down her cheeks and before she could say anything, she heard voices in the hallway.
"If Malfoy's out there, then Hermione must be here!" Harry said quietly, opening the door slowly. "Hermione!" he cried as soon as he saw her. "I didn't think you would actually make it." He came closer and hugged her tight, whispering in her ear. "I saw Malfoy out in the lobby."
"I had to bring him," she confessed. "We had to sneak here in an underground tunnel; there was no other way."
Harry just nodded and Hermione wasn't sure if he understood or not. Instead, she turned to Mrs. Weasley and hugged her tightly. "Hermione, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, pulling her back to study her. "It's been too long. How have you been?"
"Okay," Hermione replied, not wanting to burden Mrs. Weasley with her petty problems. The poor woman looked absolutely exhausted and Hermione couldn't blame her. Turning towards the doorway, Hermione saw Ginny grinning at her. Without a word, the two friends embraced each other.
"Looking forward to going back to Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, trying to keep the tremble out of her voice. It hurt to know that on September 1, Ginny, along with hundreds of others, would be boarding the Hogwarts Express while Hermione would be making last minute preparations for her wedding.
"Yeah." Ginny shrugged, obviously sensing that Hermione didn't want to talk about the subject too much. "How's it going with the Malfoys?"
"Okay," Hermione replied quickly, not too keen on that subject either. How could she explain that Draco was a different guy when away from school? Sure, he looked different with his hair down, but he was different on the inside, too. Instead of trying to explain, Hermione just shook her head. "I had better be getting back soon," she said softly. "Lucius doesn't know we're here and he'll kill us if he finds out."
Harry gave her a sad glance. "Well, thanks for stopping by," he said. He gave Ron a sharp glance. "I thought you wanted to talk to her."
"It can wait," Ron replied, smiling gently. "I'll send you an owl as soon as I can, Hermione," he told her. "Take care, though."
Hermione made her rounds again, bidding everyone goodbye and hugging them, feeling awful for leaving so soon. But she promised to find a way to visit them at the Burrow when Ron made it home.
"I know you're nervous about tonight," Draco whispered through the keyhole, "but you'll have to trust me. I know what I'm doing."
Hermione giggled to herself. If only Lucius had heard that conversation, he might be thinking differently about placing the two of them in such close sleeping quarters. She continued to flip through Lily's diary, which was filled with details of how she felt and how much sleep she felt she was losing.
Voldemort's on the loose and he's like a crazed maniac. I don't know where to turn anymore. He's turning all of us against one another. I find myself looking at James, thinking secretly he could be working undercover for him. Of course, I know most of it is the hormones and the raging emotions I'm experiencing, but it scares me. What if he comes after us? What if he gets the baby? I hate all these up-in-the-air scenarios. 'What if, what if, what if?' Who cares anymore?
That was the end of that entry and the next was on August 5. I couldn't be happier, Lily wrote, which Hermione found an incredible contradiction to her previous entry. I had a baby boy on July 31. James and I named him Harry. Harry James Potter. It suits him. He's got dark hair and soft eyes. Although he's still young, I can tell that he's going to be a good baby. Already, he doesn't cry a whole lot, but he could still be getting used to us. We're quite the bunch to get used to. Mundungus came by to visit us and Harry began to scream as soon as he came near him. I don't blame him because poor Dung can be a little out of bounds sometimes. Sirius came by to visit his godson and Peter accompanied him. We had a very fun-filled afternoon, sharing memories and great stories. Harry took to Sirius right away and I can tell that the two of them are going to have a very special relationship.
I was a little disappointed that Remus didn't drop by. Of course, it's a full moon soon, so I can understand why, but it still upsets me. Naturally, I assume he's a little upset, too, thinking about seeing the son of the woman he loves when the boy's not his. I know in his heart, Remus will treat Harry like the son he never had, but it's not the same. James is as caring as a father can get, but I still worry about his maturity level. When his friends arrived, they spent ten minutes in the washroom together, shooting wads of wet paper onto the ceiling with their wands. I was going to kill him.
Hermione laughed at this thought. She found herself being pulled in and becoming more and more captivated at the thought of Harry as a baby. It gave her something to think about and get her mind off of poor Ron for a few hours. Nighttime drew closer, but Draco still hadn't come to rescue her from her room yet. She heard Lucius and Narcissa go to bed, with Lucius muttering angrily under his breath about Hermione not showing up at supper. Rolling her eyes, she continued to read about Harry's adventures as a baby and Lily's growing worry over Voldemort.
I'm beginning to think that the Order is not doing any good. Poor Alastor Moody. He's been working overtime lately for the Order, and the Ministry, and James is busting his behind trying to get the safety report done. Albus Dumbledore keeps trying to contact me about something he deems 'rather important' but we can never seem to get a hold of one another.
Harry's sitting up on his own now. He's such a sweetie. Whenever James or I come into his view, his face lights up and he grins like crazy for at least ten minutes. Everyone keeps saying how he's such a happy baby. All of our neighbours in Godrics' Hollow are thrilled with the new addition. Mrs. McFlaherty told me that the 'last additions' to the neighbourhood was when James and I moved in. It's nice to feel so welcome.
Hermione skipped a few pages because Lily had begun to go on about the other neighbours and what they were like. "I'll come back to those pages," Hermione promised herself. "Later on." She continued to scan the pages for Lupin's name until she came across one rather interesting entry.
He came to visit me last night while James was at work. Not Remus. Not Sirius. Not Peter. Voldemort. I nearly screamed when I opened the door to get some fresh air and there he was, staring me in the face. Forget scream, I nearly dropped dead from fright. He started talking something about prophetic visions and whatnot, so naturally I assumed that he was crazier than people made him out to be. He started to bring Harry into it and I threatened to scream as loud as I possibly could. 'Go ahead,' he told me. Then he raised his wand. 'I dare you.' I remembered what Dumbledore told me about Voldemort once being called Tom Riddle and that Riddle was very childish at school. So I decided to be childish myself and slam the door in his face. I knew it only angered him, but I didn't care. I fully expected him to break down the door, but instead, I saw him walk back down the drive and out onto the street. He looked so odd; I wanted to throw every heavy object I could find at him. As an alternative, I dropped to my knees and sobbed heavily. I never told James what happened last night.
Hermione hadn't realized that she was holding her breath until then. She let out a heavy sigh with the breath and stared at the pages. "Wow," she muttered. She didn't know what she'd do if she opened her front door and Voldemort stood on the front stoop. Scream and faint came to mind, along with a few other choice options. She kept reading until her eyes grew sore. She was nearing the empty pages she saw at the back of the book and decided to put it away and save those for another day. Right now, she had to focus on her strength that would get her from Malfoy Manor to St. Mungo's without any hitches or problems.
As promised, that evening around eleven thirty, Draco appeared at Hermione's door, whispering in the keyhole. "Are you ready?"
"Not really," she muttered to herself but said, "Yeah," aloud. She opened the door to see Draco wearing all black, plus a black hat. "You look like you're going to rob a store," she told him quietly as they sneaked down the creaky staircase.
"Quit bugging," he told her, "or else you will have to go to St. Mungo's yourself." Hermione shut up immediately, not because she wanted Draco's company but because she didn't really want to go on her own. "It's a long hike," he told her as they waited patiently in the kitchen for the woman in the painting to leave. "After all, it's quite a ways away taking streets and everything. But the underground tunnel is a little more direct so it shouldn't be too bad."
Hermione sat on a kitchen chair, her knees feeling weak. Butterflies flitted around her stomach, making her feel unlike herself. Draco kept peering around the corner to see if his great aunt had left yet. Finally, after what had seemed like hours, he said, "The coast is clear." Carefully, he tiptoed around the corner and towards the painting. Slowly shoving it aside on the wall, he motioned for Hermione to go first. "Got everything you need?" he asked as she slid by him.
"Uh huh," she replied, shivering. The tunnel was going to be a lot damper and cooler than she had originally predicted. The smell of mildew was in the air and mould was growing on the walls. Careful not to touch anything, she slowly began to follow the dark corridor, which grew even darker after Draco had slid the portrait back in its place.
"Be careful," he told her, directing her with his hand on the small of her back. She smiled faintly into the darkness, wondering why he was being so caring.
"Why are you acting like you actually give a damn about me?" she asked in a teasing tone.
"Because Father will kill me if you get hurt or lost or something."
"Is it possible to get lost in this tunnel?"
"Would it bother you to know that I wasn't always an only child?"
Hermione shut her mouth, hoping he was kidding and that there were no other lost Malfoy children wandering around the passageway. They were silent for a few moments and Hermione decided, since they had nothing but time, to ask a question that had been plaguing her for quite some time.
"Why is it that when you speak of Lucius to other people, you call him 'Father' but when you talk to him directly, you call him 'Dad'? I would have thought it would have been the other way around."
Draco remained silent for a few moments. "I didn't even know I did that," he finally replied. "I guess it's because when other people talk to me about him, they always refer to him as 'your father' and I guess it just stuck." He continued to lead Hermione down the dreary pathway, his hand still on her back. Somewhere in the distance, Hermione could hear dripping water.
"Where exactly are we?"
"You know that river in the backyard?"
"No way," Hermione said. "There's no way we're under that river."
"No, we're not," Draco replied. "But we're pretty damn close."
Silence reigned for the rest of the trip, giving Hermione plenty of time to think about Ron and Harry. She was pretty sure neither of them had changed much, being only just over a month since she had seen them last. But she wondered if Ron was going to be okay. She hoped so. As angry as she was with him when she left Hogwarts, she never wished anything ill of him. She had figured once she and Draco married and were living away from Lucius, she could correspond as much as she pleased with her old friends. She was dying to write to Professor Dumbledore and tell him what was going on and that she was okay. She was sure that Professor McGonagall would be expecting to hear from her soon, too, and Hermione even considered writing Severus Snape to let him know that the Malfoys hadn't broken her yet.
Hermione was grateful when the dark tunnel ended, almost thirty minutes after they began walking. She was exhausted as she climbed up the steep hill underground and burst out into the fresh air. There were several stars in the sky above and a bright, full moon. Hermione found her thoughts drifting to Remus Lupin, wondering where he was at that moment and how he was making out if it was a full moon.
"Now the hospital is just over that hill," Draco said, pointing to the grassy knoll. "But I think it's best we wait until morning to go in."
"Definitely," Hermione agreed. "But what are we going to do for the time being?"
"Dunno," Draco confessed. He looked up at the sky, studying the stars intently. "We could sleep outside," he offered. "It doesn't look like it's going to rain."
Hermione fought a yawn. She didn't want to tell him that she could sleep on a bed of nails at that point; she was just so tired. She hadn't been getting much sleep, feeling more stifled in the Manor than she had in her entire life. Dropping to the ground, she curled up into a ball. "Sounds good," she muttered. When she didn't feel any movement from Draco after a few moments, she opened her eyes again and looked up.
Draco was standing above her looking rather uncomfortable. "I guess I'll sleep over here," he said, moving off to her right. "I'll stay awake for awhile to keep guard."
"Okay," Hermione muttered sleepily. She wasn't going to argue with him, instead letting her mind be taken over by sleep. She fell into a mess of dreams, mixed with nightmares. Draco was hanging Ron by a thread over a cliff and Ron was screaming for Hermione.
"We have to talk!" he was telling her and she agreed, trying to get to him. But when she attempted to move, she only felt more bound to the ground she was trying to leave. Screaming herself, she saw Harry in the distance.
"Harry!" she cried. "Help me!" Harry looked up, but continued to walk, ignoring her cries. He looked isolated and detached from the rest of the world. Hermione started to cry and woke with a start.
"Sorry," Draco said softly. "I didn't mean to startle you. But it's almost eight; we should get to the hospital."
Hermione sat up, sore from sleeping in the same position all night. "Won't Lucius notice us gone?" she asked.
Looking odder than before, Draco replied, "As long as we're back before noon, I don't think he'll care much."
"Right." Hermione stood up and stretched, trying to work the kinks out of her body. She followed Draco, who looked completely exhausted, towards the hill. She didn't want to climb the massive mound, but she didn't complain and began to make her way up the hill.
"It's like a miniature mountain," Draco grumbled and Hermione laughed.
"You're awfully grumpy this morning. Didn't you sleep well?"
"I didn't sleep at all!" Draco yawned. "I wanted to make sure we were both okay; you know werewolves come out during the full moons."
"And it would be just like one was looking for us," Hermione answered sarcastically. "Why didn't you sleep?"
"What do you care?" Draco replied moodily.
"If I'm going to be stuck with you for the rest of my life, I don't want you being a complete crab," she told him, stopping for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she continued climbing the hill.
"Whatever," he muttered, reaching the top. "Finally! Look, there's St. Mungo's right there." He began to descend the other side of the mountain. "And to think, we have to climb this monster in a few hours again."
Hermione marvelled at Draco's ability to climb a mini mountain and complain the entire time, and still not run out of breath. She followed him towards the large building and up the first staircase. "We're here to see Ronald Weasley," Draco told the nurse behind the glass shield.
"Third room on the left," the nurse told them, without looking up. Draco sat in the chair beside the nurse's booth and rested his head against the back of it.
"Well?" he asked when Hermione failed to move. "Aren't you going?"
"Right," she said, picking up her feet, urging them to move with the rest of her body. "I won't be long," she promised.
"You better not be," he told her, "or else Father will kill us." He closed his eyes and proceeded to try and catch up on some rest before the long journey back.
Hermione entered the third doorway on the left and noticed immediately that it seemed like the rest of the wizarding world had heard of Ron's accident. The room was filled with flowers and gifts.
Ron stirred sleepily before opening his eyes slightly. Hermione noted that he didn't look all that bad. His right eye was a little bruised but other than that, there was no notable injuries.
"Hermione," he said quietly, breaking into a soft smile. "Am I dreaming or just really lucky?"
"I'm here, Ron," she whispered back, sitting in the chair beside his bed. "I came as soon as I heard. I'm really sorry."
"For what?"
Hermione had only intended to say she was sorry about the accident, but her words got caught in her throat. "For everything!" she wailed, burying her face in his hands. "For the engagement, for being such a brat our last few months of school, for the accident, for not writing to you sooner, for everything!" Tears rolled down her cheeks and before she could say anything, she heard voices in the hallway.
"If Malfoy's out there, then Hermione must be here!" Harry said quietly, opening the door slowly. "Hermione!" he cried as soon as he saw her. "I didn't think you would actually make it." He came closer and hugged her tight, whispering in her ear. "I saw Malfoy out in the lobby."
"I had to bring him," she confessed. "We had to sneak here in an underground tunnel; there was no other way."
Harry just nodded and Hermione wasn't sure if he understood or not. Instead, she turned to Mrs. Weasley and hugged her tightly. "Hermione, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, pulling her back to study her. "It's been too long. How have you been?"
"Okay," Hermione replied, not wanting to burden Mrs. Weasley with her petty problems. The poor woman looked absolutely exhausted and Hermione couldn't blame her. Turning towards the doorway, Hermione saw Ginny grinning at her. Without a word, the two friends embraced each other.
"Looking forward to going back to Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, trying to keep the tremble out of her voice. It hurt to know that on September 1, Ginny, along with hundreds of others, would be boarding the Hogwarts Express while Hermione would be making last minute preparations for her wedding.
"Yeah." Ginny shrugged, obviously sensing that Hermione didn't want to talk about the subject too much. "How's it going with the Malfoys?"
"Okay," Hermione replied quickly, not too keen on that subject either. How could she explain that Draco was a different guy when away from school? Sure, he looked different with his hair down, but he was different on the inside, too. Instead of trying to explain, Hermione just shook her head. "I had better be getting back soon," she said softly. "Lucius doesn't know we're here and he'll kill us if he finds out."
Harry gave her a sad glance. "Well, thanks for stopping by," he said. He gave Ron a sharp glance. "I thought you wanted to talk to her."
"It can wait," Ron replied, smiling gently. "I'll send you an owl as soon as I can, Hermione," he told her. "Take care, though."
Hermione made her rounds again, bidding everyone goodbye and hugging them, feeling awful for leaving so soon. But she promised to find a way to visit them at the Burrow when Ron made it home.
